When the Taliban took control of Kabul, Kamila Sidiqi’s life changed, as did life for all women in the city. No longer were they allowed to teach, attend school, work in the embassies, or even step outside their homes without a male relative accompanying them.

When Kamila’s father and brother were forced to leave Kabul, she became responsible for her younger brother and sisters. Realizing that women still needed clothes to wear under their chadris, she decided to learn to sew and quickly created a dressmaking business to support not only her family but other destitute women in Kabul, who she employed as dressmakers.

Former ABC news anchor GayleTzemach Lemmon wanted to give readers a story that would help readers understand the lives of enterprising women in Afghanistan. The Dressmaker of Khair Khana provides a glimpse into the hidden world of women who were severely limited in what they were allowed to do, but who were determined to take care of their families.